


Emptiness to Melody

by Blue_Feathered_Raven



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Campaign two spoilers, Gen, Mighty Nein as Family, Someone gets stabbed, That's not how Celestial works, They are all there I just didn't want to tag them all, but nothing too graphic, spoilers for episode 69
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-22
Updated: 2019-11-22
Packaged: 2021-02-07 14:08:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21459304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blue_Feathered_Raven/pseuds/Blue_Feathered_Raven
Summary: Five times that Celestial sounded empty and sad and one time two speakers made it sound beautiful. The journey it took to get there.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	Emptiness to Melody

**Author's Note:**

> So.. I totally didn't find a fic title generator and found this and immediately thought angst with Celestial speakers that then evolved into “5 times Celestial sounded empty or sad and one time two speakers made it sound beautiful” That is totally not what happened at all.

Jester knew Caleb could speak differently. He said he wasn’t good at accents but he was good at convincing people. What she didn’t know that he could sing. Well, at least it sounded like singing. Whatever he was doing was light and almost sad. Carefully from the shadows, she made her way over to him. 

“Whatcha doing Caleb?” 

He visibly tensed and turned with a wary look. As his eyes focused on her the wary look faded a bit, but the tenseness remained. 

“Oh, Jester it’s just you. Nothing, I was just thinking out loud.” 

“Really? I thought you were singing or something! It sounded pretty but also really sad… That wasn’t zemnian was it? I didn’t think it sounded like that.” Jester took a few steps closer, rocking on her heels before moving to sit next to him. 

Caleb seemed to make an aborted move to hide something as she moved, but stopped as she got closer. The wary look smoothed into a bit of a pained smile. “ Ah, no. You are correct. That was not zemnian. But it was not singing. I am surprised that it sounds like singing to those who don’t know it…”

“ Well, it does! What was it?” Jester sat down in front of him. 

“it was Celestial… “ Caleb’s gaze was fixed on the ground and he was seemingly in the process of spacing out again. 

“Is it supposed to sound so sad too?” 

Caleb’s gaze quickly moved up to meet hers. “ No. No, it isn’t.” 

“Well, you sounded sad.”

“It is just a language. Nothing behind it” 

“Okay if you say so..” 

Caleb could tell she was not convinced, but at least the subject was dropped for now. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They were not ready. The dungeon and drow turned demon was more than they could handle. The tablet and rising creature was just the icing on top of the ‘we are fucked’ cake that just seemed to seal it as a death trap. It was too strong for them all to face and survive.

“We can’t win this! Everyone get the hell out!!” Fjord’s voice reached everyone’s ears as he cast a spell through his blade. Taking his advice seemed like a pretty okay plan for everyone. Retreat and live to fight another day.

Then the demon fell. It seemed like a good thing, getting an enemy off the board, taking out a threat that would be a pest later. Then he had said something, turning Yasha into an angry attacker against the Mighty Nein. They decided with heavy hearts to run, leaving one of the people they had grown to care for behind with the giant monstrosity that could swipe and almost kill them. There were almost some arguments, but everyone was so close to keeling over. When the doors closed on Yasha, everyone heard the pained cry for her before the final slamming of the doors. 

As they were running and the whispering voices crawled into their ears, telling them to do things that would cause harm to themselves and the party, the slack was picked up by the other members. No one wanted to lose two party members on the same day. After they had crossed most of the bridge, there was what seemed like an echo, some heartbreaking, empty singing coming from somewhere. Just a few short words. Like it was meant to be received but no one was there. If anyone knew where it was coming from, they didn’t mention it. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The prison was dark. Humans were never meant to live in conditions like this prison. But an assassin doesn’t get much choice, especially when caught. 

Essek waved a hand towards the door, and Caleb entered.

An interesting thing to do, face one’s fears in a place you can’t see or seem to be open. 

Caleb rarely trusted in the first place. 

Essek is forgiving and lenient. Don’t screw that up. Don’t get caught. 

If no one could understand the conversation did it happen? Do they really trust in return is there something that can be done to set everyone at ease. 

Do glowing things grow glowing? Nature does things like that. it provid- that is a lot of blood. 

Her arm moves, the arrows find their purchase. The chains twist and pull,  _ there is no soul in there anyways, _ a request is given and allowed. 

The body crumbles and is discarded to the floor. 

A few silenced words, sounding like prayer. A prayer went unheard by the now corpse on the floor. At least the prayer sounded like it was for the corpse. Souls that are lost are the only ones that need to be prayed for. 

_ But there is no soul in there. there is only one lost soul in that room and it isn’t from the corpse.  _

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Things build. A collar that silenced was one thing, but mutant clones was another. The eerieness had already settled in as the way to the permaheart was opened and the stone steps traversed down. 

The cage is magic, to be broken by a wizard. 

The wave of necrotic hits and Caleb tries to keep himself from doubling over as it washes over him. _ _

_ The group needs you to break the sigil. This is what you are good at.  _

Beau broke one, the cage cracked. Things are coming, attacking and getting attacked. The heart needs to die. 

More energy hits, nothing learned and nothing broken. 

Attack the things attacking you. 

The sigil is broken. The heart is destroyed. Not by Caleb. No not by him. Words repeat on loop in his mind. 

Nothing is said out loud. 

_ Inner thoughts can be betraying _ . 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Every language has words or anger. Words of hate. Words convey meaning and feeling and something more than just what is said. They can be backhanded and can tame the fiercest of enemies. Convey fear and alert others to danger. 

Words can fail. 

Don't get caught sneaking through the bushes, the trees aren't seen, the pounding feet aren't coming. Slience. Take in the slience. 

The giant tree trying to protect its claim keeps swinging, but obann gets the heart. 

An angry word, banishment doesn’t take. The fiend reaches out and grabs Yasha. 

Like nothing was there, they vanish, leaving nothing but an empty word hanging, that quivers and falls, shattered by silence. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first thing that happened after Yasha was freed was silence. They knew this wasn’t the end. They researched too much about demons to know that this fight was over. But no one seemed to want to do anything. It didn’t even seem like people were breathing. 

“ I’m sorry…” 

It was so quiet, barely heard over the natural surroundings where the encounter took place. 

Yasha looked at them all. “ I’m sorry… I know you don’t trust me, I wouldn’t expect you too, but please I didn’t ask to be Orphanmaker, I didn’t mean to… Hear m-” 

A blue blur slammed into Yasha’s arms, interrupting her midsentence. The motion didn’t move or attack her. Instead, it enveloped her in a hug. Beau shouted a warning, and Nott let out a quick sentence, but Jester ignored them. 

“ Yasha! You’re back! Is it really you?” She looked up at the Aasimar who they hadn’t seen in months. 

She was met by an expression that had too many emotions to process at once, Joy, fear, anxiety, and a few others that couldn’t be placed. Arms slowly wrapped around jester in return, causing almost everyone to tense up. 

“Jester! What are you doing?!!” Beau hissed from the defensive position she had taken a few feet away. 

Jester turned to her as much as she could. “ Beau it’s Yasha! We know her! Don’t you trust her?”

“How could we trust her?” Fjord spoke for the first time, his accent only barely hiding his anger and distrust. Jester felt Yasha tense up, though if it was from the accent change or the words she couldn’t tell. Fjord raised his new blade and pointed it as Yasha. “ How can we trust anything she says now?? How do we know that she isn’t still under some sor-” 

Fjord was cut off by what sounded like singing. Everyone whirled around to look for the source to see that it was Caleb. He took a few steps closer to Yasha and seemed to sing something else.

“Caleb be careful!!! You’re so squishy! She could easily kill you!” Nott screeched as she inched out of her hiding spot, watching him move closer. 

Caleb didn’t seem to listen as he stepped right up to Yasha and sang another hauntingly empty thing, before repeating the first thing he said. He started slowly saying more things. They were so pretty, but they had a deep and painful tone to them and lacked something. It just seemed to make everyone’s heart hurt. 

Yasha slowly let go and moved around jester to look at him. As he began something new, she added her voice to it, creating a harmony between their voices. It was still sad, but the harmony created something beautiful in sadness, filling in the spaces that seemed to require something. The emptiness slowly dripped away from the melody, leaving nothing but harmonies and sharp edges that smoothed after a little time. Once the song finished in a soft fermata, Caleb turned back to the group. 

“I… trust her. Let’s at least give her a chance to explain what has happened. Everyone deserves at least that much.” 

Fjord lowered his blade and looked at Caleb. “ One conversation. We can work from there…” 

As they made their way from the battlefield, Jester slid back next to Caleb and looked at him. 

“That was celestial.” The way she said it was more statement that question. 

Caleb focused straight ahead. “ Yes, it was.” 

“It still sounded sad. Then it didn’t. What happened?” 

Caleb turned to look at her. “ I am not sure how it sounded to you. But maybe because it is meant to be a pretty language. Words that go… unanswered tend to cause emotions. If the conversation is back and forth quickly, there is no emptiness left. Silence can speak volumes” 

Jester blinked and shuffled on her feet a little. “ Why did that language make you decide to trust Yasha?” 

A flicker of emotion crossed the wizard’s face. “ It is a language used by angels, uhh good things. If she remembers it, someone or something believes she deserves it. Why should we interfere with someone a god has a higher calling for?” 

When they made camp, no one mentioned how everyone kept an eye on Yasha. No one talked about how the meal was silent and not even Caduceus could start a conversation with everyone. If the first conversation in the morning was going to go badly, they didn’t know it yet. If the camp was filled with melodies full of emotion, and not emptiness for the first time in memory, no one mentioned it. If tea was made and everyone sat nearer than they had in ages listening, well no one said anything about that either.

**Author's Note:**

> I really just wanted to write something happy and remembering that both Caleb and Yasha spoke Celestial was the perfect way to give them some character interaction. I really hope that we get them talking more after everything has been cleared up. I think Caleb might have a few things that could help Yasha with what happened. They did just transport themselves to the middle of the Empire so we will see how that goes.  



End file.
